Public transport unavailability ‘forces’ marchers to stay

ISLAMABAD - Many among the Tahir-ul-Qadri’s initiated long march participants who wanted to go back to their homes faced difficulties, as the vehicles brought with the march have been blocked by march management and public transport is also unavailable.Those who still want to stay are also seen searching for shelters that most of them were unable to find in a city strange for them. The long march management has technically left the participants, who have come from different cities, with no option except to stay in Islamabad until and unless Tahir-ul-Qadri called off the march.It has been learnt that many who could leave have already left for their homes or safe places where they could sleep at least. Majority of the long marchers have no option except spending another night in open air in freezing cold weather of Islamabad while their leader was resting in his fully decorated container.Long marchers those were estimated to be around 35,000 approximately in the day time at the hour of Qadri’s speech had been reduced to around not more than 15,000 people that is expected to drastically decrease if Qadri decide to stay another night in Islamabad. Certain quarters believe that Qadri would not find more than 5000 people in D-Ground till the evening of 16th March.These quarters also believe that government needs not to do anything to disburse these marchers as this duty will be performed by the weather that will force them to go back to their homes as soon as possible.Some other factors that will not allow the marchers to stay long include shortage of food, no shelter and no washrooms available to cater the needs of around 15,000 people. It was also observed citizens of Islamabad advising the marchers to go back to their homes when they asked someone for some place they could find the shelter.It is also pertinent to mention here that the most of the marchers consisted of students of Minhaj-ul-Quran. The people those were observed on the first day came with the children, have flown from the site in the better interest of their children.